Chapter 4 Ram starting at pg 151

Question 1

Virtual Memory is an extension of ____________ and uses a portion of the ____________.

Answer 1

system RAM, hard drive (or solid-state drive)

Question 2

What is the page file used for?

Answer 2

when a computer runs out of real RAM because too many programs have been loaded, , the system swaps less used programs from RAM to the page file, opening more space for the programs currently active.

Question 3

Virtual memory is an option and is not a requirememt for Windows, macOS or Linux. T or F

Answer 3

False. All versions of these operation systems use virtual memory.

Question 4

The default and recommended page-file size in Windows is ______times the amount of installed RAM on your computer.

Answer 4

1.5

Question 5

Virtual memory requires user intervention to be activatted. T or F

Answer 5

False. it is a fully automated process and does not require any user intervention. This is true in Windows, macOS and Linux.

Question 6

If a program has been put into a page file, and is recalled by the user, it runs from the page file. T or F.

Answer 6

False. The system must decide which program can be switched out of RAM, and then puts the one in the page file back into RAM.

Question 7

If you need to change the size of the page file, you will find it where?

Answer 7

it will be in the root directory of the C: drive, usually under the hidden files.

Question 8

What is disk thrashing?

Answer 8

When the page file is accessed too frequently, the hard drive LED will go crazy as the page file and RAM are swapped back and forth.

Question 9

If your system is causing disk thrashing, what is a possible fix for this problem?

Answer 9

check to see if your system needs additional RAM

Question 10

What are the recommended RAM levels for 32 bit and 64 bit machines, per the author of the book?

Answer 10

32 bit: 2G to get by, 4G for best results

64 bit: 4G to get by, 8G for a solid machine, 16G for a machine doing serious, processor-intensive work

Question 11

Sealed systems for phones, tablets, and some laptops and desktops do not allow upgrades. What does that mean for the buyer?

Answer 11

ensure you purchase a machine with enough RAM to do the job, or you will be stuck with a possible sluggish machine.

Question 12

How can you see how much RAM you currently have on your PC?

Answer 12

Control Panel or WINDOWS-PAUSE/BREAK kestroke combination on the keyboard.

Question 13

How can you see, real-time, how much RAM is being used?

Answer 13

Task Manager Performance tab

Question 14

What is ReadyBoost used for?

Answer 14

Allows the user to use highspeed flash drives as virtual memory. Performance gain can be significant with Ready-Boost because read/write access times on flash memory blow away hard drive read/write access times.

Question 15

How can CPU-Z be helpful when looking at RAM updates?

Answer 15

CPU-Z tells you the total number of slots on your motherboard, the number of slots used, and the exact type of RAM in each slot.

Question 16

Uniformity of RAM in the different slots helps ensure a stable system. T or F

Answer 16

True.

Question 17

Choose RAM sticks that match in ________, _______, _______ and ________.

Answer 17

technology, capacity, speed, and latency (CL).

Question 18

If you decide to mix speeds of DRAM in your machine, what is the rule?

Answer 18

always put DRAM that has a speed faster than the motherboard suggests in the handbook. Your machine won’t run faster, but it will keep the system from locking up.

Question 19

What is serial prescence detect (SPD)?

Answer 19

a chip on modern RAM sticks that stores all information about the DRAM, including size, speed, ECC or non-ECC, registered or unregistered, etc. The motherboard should read this chip and inform the MCC after the PC is booted and automatically set it up.

Question 20

What are some errors that point to a possible RAM error?

Answer 20

a. system lockups and page faults
b. non-Maskable Interupt (NMI) which manifests as a proprietary crash screen, or Blue Screen of Death.
c. macOS might display a spinning rainbow wheet called the Spinning Pinwheel of Death (SPoD) (CompTIA A+ refer to the SPoD as the pin wheel of death)
d. intermittent memory errors can come from
dying power supplies,
electrical interference,
buggy applications,
buggy hardware

Question 21

What are three ways of testing the RAM?

Answer 21

1. buy a RAM testing device (expensive)
2. replace and pray - exchange each stick with a known good RAM stick and hope you find the bad memory
3. run a software tester. Good one is found at memtest.org